Galileo Galilei “The Father of Modern Science”

1. Galileo Galilei“The Father of Modern Science” By: Jeremy Merritt and Elizabeth Siegfried

2. Life and death • Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy February 15, 1564. • Declared deceased in 1642.

3. Fun Facts • Galileo is often called the “Father of Modern Science” because he promoted the modern form of experiments before concluding theories. • The Catholic Church persecuted Galileo for his support of Copernicus’ Heliocentric theory, wherein the Earth orbited the Sun instead of the Sun orbiting the Earth as the Church taught. Seen as a heretic, he tried to appeal to the oppressive church by stating that “Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe.” • Before going to the University of Pisa, Galileo had, at first, aspired to become a monk. His father resented this idea because monks are hardly paid, instead he pressured him to study medicine. Galileo in a heated debate in the University of Pisa.

4. Education • Galileo had, at first, studied in a Jesuit monastery in Pisa since he was eleven, but after being pressured to pursuit medicine by his father he eventually agreed to enroll in the University of Pisa by the time he was seventeen. • Galileo showed only an interest in mathematics while in school, he was flunking every other class. This led him to leave the University without his diploma and with a disappointed father. However, his curiosity in mathematics led him to aspire to greatness in life.

5. Galileo’s Accomplishments • At age 20 Galileo notices a lamp swinging overhead while inside a cathedral, curious, he counted his pule to the swinging of the lamp and noticed that each time it swung it took exactly the same amount of time to reach the other side. This initial curiosity led him to discover the Pendulum. • Galileo was the first man to perfect a telescope to pierce the sky and peer into the surrounding heavens above. His findings pave the way for modern astronomy. • He also invented the thermometer along with many other inventions such as; the hydrostatic balance and the canon sector, which allowed artillery regiments to calculate their trajectory and better aim their volleys. • Galileo’s improvements in astronomical observations led him to prove Copernicus’s heliocentric theory.

6. Galileo’s accomplishments Canon Sector Heliocentric Theory Galileo’s Telescope Hydrostatic Balance

7. Timeline • 1564 Galileo’s birth. • 1581 Enters University of Pisa. • 1597 Galileo supports Kepler’s heliocentric theory. • 1609 Galileo perfects telescope. • 1613 Galileo writes three letters to Rome in hopes of publishing heliocentric theory. • 1616 Rome declares Galileo’s writing as banned. • 1632 Galileo is tried by Catholic Church as a heretic and placed on house arrest for last eight years of his life. • 1642 Galileo dies of illness.

8. Citations • "Galileo Galilei - Biography." Inventors. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. <http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Galileo_Galilei.htm>. • "Timeline of Galileo Galilei." My E-town -- Personal Home Pages. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. <http://users.etown.edu/r/riegerj/media/Timeline.htm>.